goatsucker
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of goatsucker
1605–15; so called because formerly believed to suck the milk of goats; translation of Latin caprimulgus, itself translation of Greek aigothḗlas
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The birds have a number of nicknames, with the most unusual being 'the goatsucker'.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
The owl sailed slowly past; the goatsucker hawked for moths about the oaks; the trout rose to the incautious flies; the corncrake babbled loudly in the long, lush meadow grass.
From Creatures of the Night A Book of Wild Life in Western Britain by Rees, Alfred Wellesley
The prettily-mottled plumage of the goatsucker, like that of the owl, wants the lustre which is observed in the feathers of the birds of day.
From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles
They were the wail of the goatsucker, the bay of the barking wolf, and the maniac scream of the eagle.
From The White Chief A Legend of Northern Mexico by Evans, L.
The eyes of the bird, which are dazzled by the light of day, are blue, and smaller than those of the goatsucker.
From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Ross, Thomasina
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
